Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

EP 274 - The 42 Minute Hour with Michelle Oucharek-Deo

Oct 28, 2022

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Mark interviews Michelle Oucharek-Deo, a writer, speaker and art therapist about her fiction writing journey, creative therapy, and her time management philosophy of the 42 Minute Hour.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Michelle talk about:

How Michelle became an art therapist 28 years ago, working with people from 3 to 103 years old
Using art and the process of art-making as a process for healing
A memory from Grade One involving being in the library and dreaming of one day being a writer
Being a creative writing major in university and how that didn't align with Michelle's vision
Sitting down to do some writing in her mid-30s and then again in her 40s; then diving in to engage in fiction writing
Michelle's first fiction and how it relates back to her life as a therapist
The journey towards self-discovery and being accountable for one's past and one's trauma
Her "Wine, Love, and Friendship" trilogy
Michelle's belief that there should be a "men's fiction" genre
The benefit of writing about important and sensitive subjects within a fictional setting
The colleague of Michelle's who read her first book and had it hit so close to home that she had to put the book aside for a while to process it in her mind
All the different types of creative and nature therapies that exist and which can cross-over
Michelle's thumbnail version of what art therapy is, as well as what it isn't
Using the ceremony of the art-making and the experience as a way of allowing someone the opportunity to effectively "say goodbye" to a cherished family pet
The 42 minute hour and how it relates to the tremendous amount of time so many of us seem to be "losing" lately
Finding and leveraging the time that exists as opposed to letting it sift away
Michelle's 42 Minute Club on Facebook
How we all have different and unique tools in our own baskets.
Advice Michelle has for dealing with writer's block or being stuck
And much more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of lost time as well as the concept of the different tools that we all possess and the way they work for us at different times.

Links of Interest:

Michelle Oucharek-Deo is a writer, speaker and art therapist who has dedicated herself to living her life on the sparkly side of the street. She spent 28 years with a paintbrush in her hand walking with people through their emotional journeys.

Several years ago she stepped outside of the counseling office to create her first fictional series about a woman pushing past her fear and looking at who she really wants to become. During the process of Michelle's emerging writing career, managing her counseling business and motherhood, she created a new and exciting way to manage her time.

Michelle looks forward to sharing stories about her fiction writing journey and how her time management philosophy of the 42 Minute Hour allowed her to lay the foundation to running two parallel careers, baking muffins for her son, planting her garden and still staying sane.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0